Election 2008: Who People in Wisconsin Should Vote For

Editor's note: the name of the incumbent candidate is italicized, while the candidate we're endorsing is in bold.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Congressional District 1

Paul Ryan (R)

Marge Krupp (D)

Ryan's continued faith in supply-side economics is a head-scratcher, but correspondingly, he's also a true believer in pay-as-you-go budgets.Esquire endorses: Ryan

District 2

Peter Theron (R)

Tammy Baldwin (D)

Who gets to represent Madison in Congress? That would be Tammy Baldwin, a liberal of steel and good humor who is also the first openly gay nonincumbent elected to Congress. And, stunningly, also the first woman ever elected from Wisconsin.Esquire endorses: Baldwin

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District 3

Paul Stark (R)

Ron Kind (D)

Budget-minded and a friend to outdoorsmen, Kind fits this district nicely. He will also leave the nation a great legacy whenever he retires: His 2000 bill creating the Veterans History Project has already produced the largest collection of oral histories in America.Esquire endorses: Kind

District 4

No major-party opponent

Gwen Moore (D)

Moore is serious about bringing money and jobs to the poor in her Milwaukee district, and her own remarkable rise from poverty gives her work moral weight.Esquire endorses: Moore

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District 5

Jim Sensenbrenner (R)

No major-party opponent

Sensenbrenner's had a consequential 30-year career and has prided himself on independence, "regardless of who's president." But when you talk a good game against the Patriot Act only to then lead the fight to make its provisions permanent, it's time for you to go.Esquire endorses: Write-in candidate, please

District 6

Tom Petri (R)

Roger Kittelson (D)

Kittelson is running on a platform of change. None is needed. Tom Petri fits the House ideal: moderate, ready to compromise, and of sound judgment. His work to ensure that the extreme antitax policies of his party don't undermine worthwhile tax-credit programs for the working poor is a particularly notable example.Esquire endorses: Petri

District 7

Dan Mielke (R)

Dave Obey (D)

The third-most-senior member of the House, first elected in 1969, Obey has remained true to his New Deal beliefs while honing his skills as a legislator to an edge his enemies must find alarming. And Obey doesn't discriminate, bucking Democrats and Republicans alike when he finds them lacking.Esquire endorses: Obey

District 8

John Gard (R)

Steve Kagen (D)

This Green Bay rematch promises to be close, not least because freshman Kagen manages to stick his foot in his mouth with regularity. His lack of political experience--he's an M.D.--was a selling point in 2006; this time, it looks like a liability against Gard, the former state assembly speaker.Esquire endorses: Gard